Chickenpox vaccine

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Chickenpox Vaccine Increases Risk for Shingles

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Vaccinating children against chickenpox (varicella)

could increase the risk that adults would develop

shingles, a painful blistering rash that is

potentially dangerous in the elderly.

Researchers from Britain's Public Health Laboratory

Service (PHLS), said that thousands of elderly people

could also die from the complications of shingles.

They called for a re-evaluation of the policy of mass

chickenpox vaccination that has been introduced

already in the United States and is imminent in many

other countries. In 1995, the chickenpox vaccine was

approved for use in children over 1 year of age in the

US and is now required for school entry.

After a bout of naturally-occuring chickenpox, the

varicella zoster virus remains dormant in the body and

may reactivate decades later to cause shingles, a

painful rash that typically strikes chickenpox

veterans after the age of 60.

The researchers showed that adults living with

children have more exposure to the virus that causes

chickenpox and enjoy high levels of protection against

shingles.

Being close to children means that adults are exposed

to the virus, which acts like a booster vaccine

against shingles, they believe. But if all children

were vaccinated, adults who have had chickenpox would

no longer be protected against developing shingles.

The researchers worked out a mathematical model that

predicts that eliminating chickenpox in a country the

size of the United States would prevent 186 million

cases of the disease and 5,000 deaths over 50 years.

However they said it could also result in 21 million

more cases of shingles and 5,000 deaths.

The PHLS said in a statement it was working out what

the impact might be of introducing a chickenpox

vaccine in Britain. " As more evidence becomes

available, it will be shared with the Joint Committee

on Vaccination and Immunization, which advises the

Department of Health on the immunization schedule.

JAMA May 1, 2002;287(17):2211:

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COMMENT by DR. SHERRI TENPENNY: E-mail to a friend

By attempting to eliminate an essentially harmless

childhood disease, we are going to create a disaster

of epidemic proportions. This is the " first glimpse "

of things to come: vaccines to treat problems caused

by vaccines.

Chickenpox is a mild infection of childhood caused by

the varicella zoster virus. A self-limiting disease

characterized by fever, malaise and an itchy,

vesicular rash that covers the entire body. Chickenpox

usually resolves within 4-5 days, leaving the child

with lifetime immunity. With vaccination, the duration

of protection from varicella infection by Varivax® is

unknown.

Shingles is thought to be caused by the reactivation

of the same chickenpox-causing virus,

varicella-zoster. It is generally a disease of the

elderly but can also develop in insulin-dependent

diabetics and those who have immunodeficient diseases

such as AIDS and leukemia. A shingles outbreak can be

triggered by the stress-emotional or physical-or by

certain medications, including steroids [ex:

prednisone], chemotherapy and radiation.

Unlike chickenpox, a shingles outbreak is anything but

benign. The first sign is usually one sided tingling,

itching, or stabbing pain on the skin. After a few

days, a red, blistering rash appears that is severely

painful rash that can last for weeks. At its peak,

symptoms range from a mild itch to intense pain.

When the outbreak resolves, it can leave numbness,

skin discoloration and permanent scars. Serious

complications, including facial paralysis, hearing

loss, or encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) can

occur, and if the infection includes the eye, the

result can be glaucoma, cataracts or even permanent

blindness.

There are a few medications available to treat

shingles such as antidepressants, anticonvulsants, and

topical agents. The severity and duration of an attack

of shingles can be somewhat reduced if treated early

with the antiviral drugs acyclovir (Zovirax),

valacyclovir (Valtrex) or famcyclovir (Famvir).

However, none of these medications " cure " shingles.

Frequently type specific homeopathics can be quite

helpful though.

Approximately 20% of shingles cases can result in

post-herpetic neuralgia. This condition manifests as

unrelenting pain that can persist for years after the

initial rash has healed. There is no conventional

treatment for post-herpetic neuralgia and even the

strongest pain medications are rarely helpful.

As the article points out, vaccinating children with

the chickenpox vaccine will cause the pool of wild

virus will die out. Adults who had chickenpox as a

child need to be re-exposed to the wild virus to keep

any residual dormant virus in check.

It is estimated that currently as many as 2 in every

10 persons may be affected by shingles in their

lifetime. Without this exposure, the number of people

who will contract shingles is anticipated to increase

substantially. The solution appears to be the

development of another vaccine.

Not to miss an opportunity, a large study is underway

for the development of the shingles vaccine. The

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

(NIAID) is currently testing a shingles vaccine in

clinical trials in conjunction with the National

Institutes of Health (NIH.)

The Shingles Prevention Study is part of a nationwide

collaborative effort between the NIAID, Department of

Veterans Affairs (the VA), and Merck. It should be

noted that Merck is also the manufacturer of Varivax®,

the chickenpox vaccine.

This double-blind study will test a vaccine similar to

Varivax®; however, the experimental vaccine contains a

larger amount of the weakened varicella virus. If a

participant was given the placebo during the trial and

the vaccine is later found to be " successful, " the

person will be offered the shingles vaccine at no

charge at the conclusion of the study. A nice perk for

participating as a human test subject.

None of this makes sense. Wouldn't the logical

solution be to STOP the chickenpox vaccination and

allow this mild virus to do its job?

However, there seems to be little logic when it comes

to the development of new vaccines. The vaccine

industry believes that the widespread use of vaccines

to prevent infectious diseases is " one of the greatest

public health achievements of this century " and plans

are in place to create a vaccine to treat every type

of conceivable ailment. One of the goals set forth in

the NIAID Strategic Plan it to:

" Explore opportunities for vaccine development in less

traditional areas, including therapeutic vaccines for

the management of chronic diseases; vaccines for the

control of autoimmune diseases; and vaccines for

special circumstances of public health concern, such

as bioterrorism. "

So, a shingles vaccine to treat a problem caused by

the chickenpox vaccine is only the beginning. Here are

three examples of dozens coming:

1) The Allergy Vaccine: for cypress pollen and food

allergies. Seven product candidates are in clinical

trials with two more at the preclinical stage.

2) The M.S. Vaccine: A USC-invented vaccine for

multiple sclerosis (MS)

3) The Rheumatoid Arthritis vaccine: RAVAX® is thought

to inhibit the disease-associated T cells that cause

rheumatoid arthritis, and prevent further damage in

patients suffering from the disease.

Even the most cursory review of vaccine package

inserts and the medical literature will show ample

evidence that the side effects of vaccines can cause

allergies. The hepatitis B vaccine has been implicated

in the development of both MS and rheumatoid

arthritis. The list goes on and on.

However, with NIAID's proposed budget of $4 billion

for fiscal year 2003 , it is likely we will see more

and more " designer vaccines " to treat a myriad of

diseases-in fact, there are more than 200 vaccines

currently in the pipeline. It remains to be seen what

additional medical disasters will created by this

massive immunological experimentation.

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[Guest guest]

Over my cold, dead body before I'd let them give my kid this shot.

[Guest guest]

You have to wonder too, why was there a study done saying stroke was not related

to Varicella vaccine. What prompted that study? I ask that a lot nowdays.

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> Over my cold, dead body before I'd let them give my kid this shot.

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